-- Twenty-year Sports Industry Veteran
Selected to Oversee League Operations and Launch of Inaugural
Season -
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Take-Two Interactive Software,
Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick have selected
Brendan Donohue, NBA Senior Vice President, Team Marketing and
Business Operations (TMBO), as Managing Director of their new,
jointly formed NBA 2K esports league, effective immediately. NBA
teams participating in the inaugural season will be announced in
the coming weeks, with the new league set to launch in 2018.
Donohue, a sports industry veteran with more than two decades of
experience in team and league operations, will be responsible for
managing the new league. Since joining the NBA in 2009, he has been
instrumental in the success of TMBO, the league’s industry-renowned
consulting group. There, he led strategic planning and management
for all 64 teams across the NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League,
helping them innovate in sales, marketing, digital and analytical
areas of their business.
“We're thrilled that we already have in place a seasoned sports
executive to lead this new league,” said NBA Commissioner Adam
Silver. “The fact that Brendan knows the NBA inside and out is a
huge bonus and will enable us to ramp up this venture in record
time.”
“We are very pleased to have Brendan join our team and lend his
extensive professional basketball acumen to the NBA 2K esports
league,” said Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick. “The
league will have all of the structure and polish of the NBA,
coupled with the thrills and engagement of our industry-leading NBA
2K franchise to provide an exciting new entry into the world of
competitive gaming.”
More than half of the NBA team organizations are expected to
participate in the NBA 2K esports league’s inaugural season. The
new, professional competitive gaming league will bring together the
best basketball gamers in the world and follow a professional
sports league format. Five competitors will face off in
head-to-head competition throughout a regular season, participating
in a bracketed playoff system, and concluding with a championship
matchup. This marks the first official esports league operated by a
U.S. professional sports league.
Donohue graduated from Boston College with a degree in English
and a concentration in Business. He lives in Fairfield, Conn., with
his wife Patty and their two children.
About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three
professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association,
the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA
Development League. The league has established a major
international presence with games and programming in 215 countries
and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in
more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA
rosters at the start of the 2016-17 season featured a record 113
international players from 41 countries and territories. NBA
Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com and the NBA App, which
achieved record viewership and traffic during the 2015-16 season.
The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in
the world, with more than 1.3 billion likes and followers globally
across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares,
the league addresses important social issues by working with
internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support
education, youth and family development, and health-related
causes.
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software,
Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive
entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops
and publishes products through its two wholly-owned labels Rockstar
Games and 2K. Our products are designed for console systems and
personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, and are
delivered through physical retail, digital download, online
platforms and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock
is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more
corporate and product information please visit our website at
http://www.take2games.com.
About 2K
Founded in 2005, 2K develops and publishes interactive
entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming systems
and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, which
are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online
platforms and cloud streaming services. 2K publishes titles in
today’s most popular gaming genres, including shooters, action,
role-playing, strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment.
The 2K label has some of the most talented development studios in
the world today, including Firaxis Games, Visual Concepts, Hangar
13, and Cat Daddy Games. 2K’s stable of high quality titles
includes the critically acclaimed BioShock®, Borderlands™, Mafia,
and XCOM® franchises, the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization series,
Evolve™, Battleborn®, the popular WWE 2K franchise and NBA 2K, the
highest rated* annual sports title of this console generation.
2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned
label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO). For
more information, please visit www.2k.com.
All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property
of their respective holders.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained herein which are not historical facts
are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities
laws and may be identified by words such as "anticipates,"
"believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans,"
"potential," "predicts," "projects," "seeks," “should”, "will," or
words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding the outlook for the Company's future business
and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are
based on the current beliefs of our management as well as
assumptions made by and information currently available to them,
which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in
circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and
results may vary materially from these forward-looking statements
based on a variety of risks and uncertainties including: our
dependence on key management and product development personnel, our
dependence on our Grand Theft Auto products and our ability to
develop other hit titles, the timely release and significant market
acceptance of our games, the ability to maintain acceptable pricing
levels on our games, and risks associated with international
operations. Other important factors and information are contained
in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including
the risks summarized in the section entitled "Risk Factors," the
Company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the
Company's other periodic filings with the SEC, which can be
accessed at www.take2games.com. All forward-looking statements are
qualified by these cautionary statements and apply only as of the
date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update
any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170425006449/en/
NBAMichael Chavez Booth, 212-407-8859Senior Specialist,
Partnership Communicationsmchavezbooth@nba.comorTake-TwoHenry A.
Diamond, 646-536-3005SVP, Investor Relations & Corporate
Communicationshenry.diamond@take2games.comorTake-TwoAlan Lewis,
646-536-2983VP, Corporate Communications & Public
Affairsalan.lewis@take2games.comor2KRyan Peters, 415-507-7607Senior
Public Relations Managerryan.peters@2k.com
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